Massage chair



Oct. 23, 1951 R. A. LABBE 2,572,040

MASSAGE CHAIR Filed March 29, 1948 5 ShQess-Sheet l Roland A. Labbe IN] "EX'I OR.

Oct. 23, 1951 R. A. LABBE 2,572,040

MASSAGE CHAIR Filed March 29, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 EKIIIJXEI 4/89 uu .5 7a 1 1 F g I20 1/2 IIIIIIIIIH Roland A. Labbe I N VENTOR.

BY dafim m Oct. 23, 1951 R. A. LABBE 2,572,040

MASSAGE CHAIR Filed March 29, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 3

HM r Roland A. Labbe l0 INVENTOR.

Oct. 23, 1951 R. A. LABBE MASSAGE CHAIR Filed March 29, 1948 5 Shests-Sheet 4 as as /0 Roland A. Labbe INVENTOR.

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Patented Oct. 23, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MASSAGE CHAIR Roland A. Labbe, Thermopolis, Wyo.

Application March 29, 1948, Serial No. 17,619

7 Claims.

slidably mounted thereon and a vibrator assembly having a massage pad and another massage pad on a lever which is manually operated.

The primary object of this invention may be considered the provision of a massage chair in which vertically slidable arm rests are provided to allow the person taking treatment on the chair to lift the body in such a way as to free the spine and back muscles during the massage treatment, this being accomplished by the placing of the major portion of the weight of the body on the arm rest.

Another object of this invention is to combine with a device as described in the preceding paragraph, a vibratory massage pad normally operating in a horizontal plane, but shiftable vertically along the spine, and it should be carefully noted that the chair is made rotatable so that the body may be shifted slightly rotationally and laterally. In the modified form of this invention included in this disclosure, the lifting of the body so as to free the spine and the back muscles is accomplished by the lowering of the seat after the person taking the treatment has seated himself in the chair with his arms on the arm rests.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a chair of this type with a vertical frame having two spaced members with fiat sides disposed toward and above the seat, these flat sides having cushion facings ordinarily covered by removable sanitary towels, and similar removable sanitary towels may be used to cover the massaging pads.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a massaging chair with a manually operated massage pad which is mounted upon a carriage used to mount the motor unit, eccentric and plunger of the vibratory massage pad.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a massage chair which may be used with maximum comfort and which is extremely simple to operate, the chair being adapted particularly for use in clinics and offices by professional practitioners, and the above mentioned manually operable massage pad having the operating lever handle on the rear of the machine so that the practitioner may conveniently operate the same.

. Yet another object of this invention is to proprovided with the chair will include extension means for the vibratory pad.

Another object, ancillary to the preceding object, is to provide a machine of this type with means whereby the vibratory pad may be shifted both vertically and horizontally, as well as extended toward the front of the machine.

And a last object to be mentioned specifically is to provide a machine of this type which is relatively inexpensive and practicable to manufacture, which is extremely safe, convenient and efficacious in use, and which will give generally efiicient and durable service.

With these objects definitely in View, this invention resides in a novel and utilitarian construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions as will be hereinafter described in the specification, particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a material part of this application, and in which: 7

Figure 1 is a three dimensional view of the assembled chair, a portion at the lower side of the figure being broken away to conserve space;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the assembled chair;

Figure 3 is a rear-elevational view of the chair;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view, largely in side elevation, of an upper portion of the chair, portions of which are shown in phantom lines, and

the view is designed particularly to illustrate the positional relationship of the carriage with its counter-balancing weight relative to the other portions of the chair;

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view, taken substantially in a plane through the line 5-5 in Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view of one of the arm rests with one of the guard pads mounted thereon, together with contiguous structure, the view being taken substantially on the line 6-6 in Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a similar view, taken on the line 1-1 in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the upper portion of the machine, with the motor driven vibratory pad mounted upon an extension rod provided as an accessory with this machine, the view being adapted to indicate one use of this machine with the extension rod being employed; and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified form of seat assembly, in which the seat is hydraulically controlled.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the several views of the drawings,

It is proposed by this invention to provides.

massage chair having a base I0 with which is right and spaced relation, and welded to the base plate M, the upper ends being joined by a ores-s member I8. It is preferred that the upright members It shall be constructed of angle irons disposed as illustrated in the drawings and hav ing fiat sides I6 disposed toward the front of the machine, the term machine being used interchangeably with the term chair in this specification.

The said front sides indicated at l6 have cushion facings 2-5 and 22' secured thereto and, as illustrated in Figure 1 only, these cushion facings are covered by removable towels '25 which are held in place on the front of the cushion faci-ngs by tapes 28 inserted thereth-rough and through apertures 38 provided in thecushion facings and registerin apertures in the said fiat sides It, the tapes being tied to hold the towels in place. This method-of attachment of towels is also used in connection with the arm rests 32 and the corresponding cushions 34, the tapes in this instance being indicated as tied at -36, in Figu-rel.

The'arm rests--32 include horizontally disposed members which are upturned at their front ends and which are carried on shoes: 38' horizontally and slidably mounted. on forwardly extending brackets welded or otherwise secured: to the top plate 42 of each of a pairof laterally shift"- able slides 44 which are, in turn, mounted on laterally extending angle iron: arms 48- rigidly secured to the upper end of the fork carrierlt; ThiSfOIk carrier 48' has a lower end bight section 48 which is integral with a rearwardly-extending arm 50- having a screwed collar 52 assoelated with the partially screw-threaded. shank 54 of the adjusting crank 55,. whereby the arm rest-assembly 58 portions of which: have a-l'ready been described, is moved upwardly and downwardly, suitable bearings 69- and '62- beingjprovided for the shank 54.

The brackets 40 carry guard pads 66- which may also be covered by suitable towel members 68, the pads 66 being mounted ondownturned portions '10 of the brackets 4!]. Depending plate portions 12 of the slides 44 are provided'with thrust bearings 14, and a crank 16- having. a screwed shank portion 18 associated with aminternally threaded collar carried by each of the shoes 38, is used to shift each arm rest-32 forwardly and rearwardly, this structure: being best illustrated in Figure 6 and it will be-noted that the forward endof the shank l8 issupported in a bearing 82 on the depending or downturned portion 10 of each bracket 48. The arm rests are shifted laterally by means of cranksMmounted in thrust bearings 88, the shank portions 88 of these cranks being associated threadedly with a portion of each slide. From an inspection or the figures, it will be. clear how actuation-of the crank 84 will cause the assembliesincludin the arm rests and the guard. pads 6f to be moved laterallyv along the angle iron arms fltr V The carriage, generally indicated at 89,; also includes a verticahplat'e" member. 90 which has a v forwardly extending portion 921 and Lag-"trans Fri 4 versely extending portion 94 between the upright members i 6 and substantially parallel with the portions iii of the upright members. The carriage is guided at the rear by a pair of sleeves 55 carried by the plate 98 and a pair of upright rails I09, while the fork 48 is similarly guided by sleeves I02 secured to the upright frame members IS. The weight of the carriage is considerable and is counter-balanced by the weight member 194, best illustrated in Figure 4, linked with "the carriage through a flexible cable 196 and entrained through pulleys 108 secured to the upper portion of the frame, preferably to a top plate H8 which is used to connect the upper ends of the rails I69 and the tops of the upright members It. The weight led has a laterally extending handle 165 which may be reached by the person taking treatment, whereby the carriage 89 may be raised or' lowered.

An electric motor H2 is connected by means of a belt H4 with a suitable eccentric drive H6 mounted upon the forwardly extending portion 92 of the carriage. This eccentric drives a plunger H8 extending through a suitably apertured portion of the plate and terminating in a massage pad' 120, the actual means; for mounting the pad on the plunger being imma terial in this application, although it is preferred that the forward end of the plunger H8 be provi'de'd with an attachment member I22 Whichis insertable into the pad I20. If reference now be had to Figure 8 it will be clear how an extension I24 having a pad 1'26 may be used to facilitate the giving of treatments to a person standing or otherwise positioned in front of the chair. This extension I24 is provided witha flexible joint I 28 which may take the form o'fa couplin of rubber hose connecting the portion 21 With the main portion I24,- and a spi'ingi ldil rigidly secured to the inner end of the extension IZ-l'm-ay be frictionallyinserted in'the mem'- ber #22 which is hollowed for that purpose, so that the extension may be' moved considerably to facilitate the giving of vibratory massage treatments to" portions of the body above "and below and: even laterally disposed" of the'forward end of the plunger H8. In this connectioriiit may benote'd that the seat 1'3 l prefer'ablypadded and capable of being rotated, is supported on a seatbase T36 fixed to the base ['0 and a s li iftable spider seatfrarne I382 Another massage pad attachment member 1'4'0 is carried on a plunger M2 "mounted similarly-'- to the plunger H 8- but connected at its rearend pivo'tally to anianuallyoperated lever l l-flwhicli is itself-pivoted as at M6 on the plate 92-. The plunger I42" is disposed immediately above the vibratory massage pad plunger H8 and a separate massagepad will be mounted thereony'o'i the massage pad [26 may be moved from-one plunger to the other. v

I-n themodifiedfio'rm 'of' this iiiven'tion', the seat l3 l is incorporated with a hydraulic j 'a'ck-mecliay nisrn including. a piston Hi3 operating in a cyl ind'er |59= which latter is mounted within the" seat base |=36;- and a pedal actuator l5'2;-"or any other suitable actuating means, together with '8' complement or valve controlswhich are' not illustrated in the drawings will beprovided:

The operation of this invention will be clearly understood from: the foregoing description o! themechanical detailsthereof, taken in conne'ction with the above recitation or the objects sought-to be achieved by this-invention- In ro capitulation, itmaybe added that in the modified form described immediately above, the seat I34 may be lowered after the person taking the treatment in the chair has been adjusted properly therein so that his weight is suspended from the arm rests. In the form of the invention first described, the crank 56 is used to raise the fork carrier 48 and arm rest assembly 58 after the person taking the treatment has been seated on the seat I34, and it will be seen that the same ultimate result is achieved in each case. As described above, this ultimate result is associated, in a clinical sense, with the loosening of the spine and back muscles, prior to or during the actual massaging operation. The motor driven vibratory massage pad I20 and the manually operated massage pad on the attaching member I40 are independently operated, the latter being primarily designed for stretching the muscles in predetermined areas as determined to be necessary by the practitioner, and the carriage 89 with the massaging pads will be moved freely up and down the length of the spine of the person taking treatment, as determined by the practitioner.

It will be clear that all of the objects sought to be achieved are amply accomplished by this invention. Obviously, many minor variations may be made in the exact construction and proportionment of the various elements of this invention, all within the spirit and scope thereof,

and this invention should be limited only by 2.

proper interpretation of the terminology used in the subjoined claims.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A massage chair comprising a base, a seat mounted on said base, an upright frame supported by said base immediately behind and above said seat, a pair of arm rests vertically slidably mounted on said frame and extending forwardly and laterally of the seat and above said seat, and a vibrator assembly including a massage pad and an operating motor therefor vertically slidable as an assembly on the frame, said pad extending forwardly of said frame.

2. A massage chair comprising a base, a seat mounted on said base, an upright frame supported by said base immediately behind and above said seat, a pair of arm rests vertically slidably mounted on said frame and extending forwardly and laterally of the seat and above said seat, and a vibrator assembly including a massage pad and an operating motor therefor vertically slidable on the frame, opposing lateral brackets on the frame, said arm rests being slidably mounted on said brackets so as to be adjustable horizontally in two directions.

3. A massage chair comprising a base, a seat mounted on said base, an upright frame supported by said base immediately behind and above said seat, a pair of arm rests vertically slidably mounted on said frame and extending forwardly and laterally of the seat and above said seat, a vibrator assembly including a massage pad and an operating motor therefor vertically slidable on the frame, said frame including two spaced vertical members having flat sides disposed toward and above said seat, and said sides having cushion facings.

4. A massage chair comprising a base, a seat mounted on said base, an upright frame supported by said base immediately behind and above said seat, a pair of arm rests vertically slidably mounted on said frame and extending forwardly and laterally of the seat and above said seat, a vibrator assembly including a massage pad and an operating motor therefor vertically slidable on the frame, said frame including two spaced vertical members having fiat sides disposed toward and above said seat, and said sides having cushion facings, opposing lateral brackets above said seat and vertically slidably mounted on said frame, said arm rests being also slidably mounted on said-brackets adjustable horizontally in two directions toward and away from said facings.

5. A massage chair comprising a base, a seat mounted on said base, an upright frame supported by said base immediately behind and above said seat, a pair of arm rests vertically slidably mounted on said frame and extending forwardly and laterally of the seat and above said seat, a vibrator assembly including a massage pad and an operating motor therefor vertically slidable on the frame, said assembly having a supporting carriage, said frame having a pair of vertical rails and said carriage having a pair of sleeves slidably mounted on said rails, a second massage pad having a supporting rod horizontally slidably mounted in said carriage, and a lever pivoted on said carriage for actuating said rod.

6. A massage chair comprising a base incorporating a foot rest on the lower forward portion thereof, a seat mounted on said base, an upright frame supported by said base immediately behind and above said seat, a pair of arm rests and a carrier therefor vertically slidably mounted on said frame and extending forwardly and laterally of the seat and above said seat, a vibrator assembly including a massage pad and an operating motor therefor vertically slidable on the frame, said assembly having a supporting carriage, said frame having a pair of vertical rails and said carriage having a pair of sleeves slidably mounted on said rails, a second massage pad having a supporting ,rod horizontally slidably mounted in said carriage, and a lever pivoted on said carriage for actuating said rod, said carrier having laterally extending arms and said arm rests being slidably mounted on the arms for adjustment laterally and forwardly and rearwardly, and said arms also having guard pads extending in front of said arm rests.

7; Apparatus according to claim 6 and including a counter-balancing weight with a complement of pulleys and a flexible cable operatively connected with said vibrator assembly to facilitate the raising and lowering of said assembly.

ROLAND A. LABBE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Lea Sept. 30, 1947 

